A rabbit hole to innovation land: An empirical examination of the Alice decision

IF 3.3 3区社会学 Q1 LAW

Computer Law & Security Review Pub Date : 2024-12-28 DOI:10.1016/j.clsr.2024.106103

Hyejin Lee , Young Soo Park , Jaeseog Na , Sung-Pil Park

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank caused a dramatic decline in software patents and marked a major shift in U.S. patent policy. Opponents argue that the Alice decision sounded the death knell for all software patents and deterred software innovation. Proponents suggest that the Alice decision did not stifle software innovation but actually increased research and development (R&D) activity and the value of software patents. After examining the legal and economic background, we find that, contrary to the traditional model, a decrease in the number of patents does not necessarily signify a decrease in innovation, especially when the Factors Reducing Patent Value (FRPV) are prevalent. We present a theoretical framework and an empirical analysis demonstrating that the Alice decision has not negatively affected R&D activity or the patent value of software. Our study demonstrates that the Alice decision has stimulated firms’ innovation activities and increased the value of their patents by restricting the scope of broad and ambiguous patent rights, thereby discouraging the accumulation of excessive patent rights.

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来源期刊

Computer Law & Security Review LAW-

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

10.30%

发文量

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： CLSR publishes refereed academic and practitioner papers on topics such as Web 2.0, IT security, Identity management, ID cards, RFID, interference with privacy, Internet law, telecoms regulation, online broadcasting, intellectual property, software law, e-commerce, outsourcing, data protection, EU policy, freedom of information, computer security and many other topics. In addition it provides a regular update on European Union developments, national news from more than 20 jurisdictions in both Europe and the Pacific Rim. It is looking for papers within the subject area that display good quality legal analysis and new lines of legal thought or policy development that go beyond mere description of the subject area, however accurate that may be.